USCIS releases new Form I-9Seyfarth Shaw LLP
On March 8, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services published a revised Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. All employers must complete a Form I-9 for each employee hired in the United States.
Employers should immediately begin using the revised Form I-9 for all new hires and reverifications.

For detailed information on the new form, click here to see information from Cozen O'Connor.

Seyfarth Shaw LLP is planning a webinar to offer tips and best practices, click here to stay tuned for further details.
For an analysis of the new I-9, co-authored by Seyfarth partner, Angelo Paparelli, click here.

1. purchased or leased a model year 20032007 non-ambulance Ford vehicle in the United
States equipped with a 6.0-liter PowerStroke diesel engine; and
2. the vehicle received one or more repairs covered by Ford's New Vehicle Limited Warranty
during its first five years in service or 100,000 miles, whichever came first, to a fuel injector;
the EGR valve; the EGR cooler; the oil cooler; or the turbocharger; and
3. you had not, as of Nov. 1, 2012, filed (and not voluntarily dismissed without prejudice)
an individual lawsuit based on that engine;

Then you may be a member of a proposed settlement class and entitled to reimbursement for
certain engine-related repair costs and deductibles.More

Health care law continues to crease uncertainty and confusion in the construction industryAssociated Builders and Contractors
On the eve of the third anniversary of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Associated Builders and Contractors recently said the health care law continues to create uncertainty and confusion in the construction industry, making it difficult for the nation's contractors to plan for the future. "ABC members have major concerns about how to implement the employer mandate provisions of the health care law," said ABC Vice President of Government Affairs Geoff Burr. "The provisions are complex and confusing, and significant employer education is needed."
More

Top 10 loss control tips for 2013: Eye injury safety programsBy Dennis Truitt Frequently, eye injuries fall into a very close second place behind hands and fingers in the workplace. It is typical to see these accidents taking up about 15 percent of the injuries sustained to worker body parts. Interestingly, many of these injuries are easily preventable. In fact, most of the incidents that are cited involved either failing to wear eye protection, or failing to select the correct type of eye protection. You can prevent a lot of incidents by conducting a hazard assessment to determine company needs.More

Poor quality Chinese concrete could lead to skyscraper collapsesWired
A sand scandal is brewing in China, with concerns that low quality concrete has been used in the construction of many of the country's largest buildings — putting them at risk of collapse. The recipe to make concrete is pretty simple — cement, aggregate and water — but the strength of the final batch can vary wildly depending on the kinds of aggregate and cement used and the proportions they're mixed in. Commonly, the aggregate used in many modern building projects consists of crushed gravel or other rock, including sand, and that's the cause of so much distress in the Chinese construction industry at the moment. Inspections by state officials have found raw, unprocessed sea sand in at least 15 buildings under construction in Shenzhen, including a building which, when finished, was set to become China’s tallest.More

The steps to complying with safety standardsEntrepreneur
Why worry about safety? Because failing to do so could literally destroy your business. Besides the human loss, workplace accidents cost money and time. You could be liable for substantial penalties that could wipe out your business' cash flow. The Occupational Safety & Health Administration can assess huge fines for willful violations of safety rules, especially when they could result in death or serious physical harm.More

Researchers building stronger, greener concrete with biofuel byproductsKansas State University via ScienceDaily
Kansas State University civil engineers are developing the right mix to reduce concrete's carbon footprint and make it stronger. Their innovative ingredient: biofuel byproducts. "The idea is to use bioethanol production byproducts to produce a material to use in concrete as a partial replacement of cement," said Feraidon Ataie, doctoral student in civil engineering, Kabul, Afghanistan. "By using these materials we can reduce the carbon footprint of concrete materials."More

Smokestack implosion draws hundreds to Kings Park, NYNewsday-TV
Pegeen Hyde of Syosset, N.Y., had seen skyscrapers and casinos blown up on television and in movies. But she and her son Robert, 18, wanted to watch in person as a demolition crew imploded a Kings Park, N.Y., smokestack.
"You see it all the time on TV from Las Vegas, but you don't see it here," said Hyde, 50, minutes before the 220-foot-high spire was brought down. "It's a bit of history. It's been here a long time."More

Mobile devices can make all the difference in a project's successCE News
If you were asked about the most frustrating aspects of working on civil engineering construction projects, what are the couple of pain points that you would do just about anything to eliminate? Likely, you would end up railing against some aspect of the constant changes and common disorganization of data that breeds project delays and cost overruns. Additionally, you struggle with the timely and accurate reporting of your project status to all project stakeholders. The status quo has been both inefficient and costly, but there's good news on the horizon. Emerging technologies promise increased resource efficiency and on-time completion. The solution you're seeking is mobility.More

USCIS releases new Form I-9Seyfarth Shaw LLP
On March 8, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services published a revised Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. All employers must complete a Form I-9 for each employee hired in the United States.More

Cybersecurity a growing issue for small businessEntrepreneur
As more business owners utilize technology such as cloud computing and mobile devices and apps, the risk of hackers accessing money and sensitive business data becomes more real. The House of Representatives' Committee on Small Business addressed this issue today during a special hearing called, "Protecting Small Businesses Against Emerging and Complex Cyber-Attacks."More